Making Sense of the Financial Statements

There are different types of financial statements - general purpose financial statements, and financial statements prepared for specific purposes. The general objective of financial statements is to provide useful information about an entity's financial position, performance and cash flows to a wide range of users. The general purpose financial statements are directed towards the common information needs of users, especially those who are not in a position to demand reports tailored to meet their particular information needs such as, shareholders, creditors and employees. The nature and degree of the differences between these and the financial statements prepared for special purposes is determined on the basis of users' needs and cost-benefit analyses. Understanding the real matters behind the figures presented and how to situate them with the other details provided is vital to the relevance, reliability and utility of these financial documents to the reader in making an informed judgement. Packed with plenty of practical examples, questions and answers - detailing the uses, analyses and interpretation of accounting ratios - this one-stop resource provides the reader with the necessary tools for understanding, analysing and interpreting financial statements; it offers practical guidance and expertise on how to look at the accounting figures and the stories behind their presentation, the related accounting concepts and terms, with provisions of the IFRS for the Small and Medium Sized Entity. It is principally an invaluable aid to students preparing for examinations in this area of financial accounting, together with any individual wishing to understand and appreciate issues raised in the financial statements as presented by corporate bodies.